Skip to content

Insurance broker / Business types / Farming and nature

Insurance for market gardens, orchards and tree nurseries in Germany

Hail on the glass roof, snow on the polythene, a heating system that goes out on a January night: in a market garden the whole season depends on buildings and equipment that must stand up to weather and frost. In orchards and tree nurseries the value stands outdoors. This page shows what to insure in Germany and what it costs.

Insurance for market gardens, orchards and nurseries

The question almost everyone asks first

Are my plants covered if the heating fails in winter?

Not under standard buildings or contents insurance, because a heating failure is neither fire nor storm. You need glasshouse insurance that covers crops against equipment failure, heating failure and power cuts. Good policies also cover the follow-on crop that cannot be raised in time after the loss. A temperature alarm is usually a condition.

What goes wrong in this trade

  1. 01

    Hail and storm on the glasshouse

    Glass and polythene are fragile. One hailstorm destroys roof panels and the crops beneath them.

  2. 02

    Snow load

    Wet snow on polytunnels and glass roofs brings structures down, often in a single night.

  3. 03

    Heating and climate control fail

    A faulty burner, a power cut or a crashed climate computer, and the temperature drops below the critical level.

  4. 04

    Frost and hail in the orchard

    Late frost during blossom or hail in summer costs fruit growers a large part of the harvest.

  5. 05

    Customers in the sales glasshouse

    Wet paths, steps, falling hanging baskets: customer falls are the typical liability case in a retail nursery.

  6. 06

    Theft from open ground

    Valuable specimen trees and crates of fruit are stolen from nurseries and orchards.

Risk radar
Liability 3Fire and water 5Theft 3Cyber 2Downtime 5Health 3

Compared with other trades, 1 low to 5 high.

The insurance you need

Essential

Commercial buildings

Insures glasshouses, polytunnels and sheds against hail, storm, snow load, fire and glass breakage.

Business contents

Covers crops, stock for sale and equipment in the glasshouse, including heating and equipment failure.

Business liability

For customers in the shop, crop spraying, deliveries and planting work, plus environmental damage from heating oil and fertiliser.

Strongly advised

Natural hazard cover

For orchards, nursery beds and field crops this role is taken by hail or multi peril crop insurance.

Business interruption

Pays for lost income if a whole season of bedding and balcony plants is missing after a loss.

Depends on the business

Electronic equipment

For climate computers, irrigation controls and alarm equipment that fail through power surges.

Car insurance

For tractors, yard loaders and vans on public roads, where liability cover is compulsory.

What it costs: example prices

Market gardens pay mainly for glasshouse area, glass or polythene construction and the value of the crops. Orchards and tree nurseries add hail and multi peril crop insurance per hectare.

InsuranceExampleTypical range
Business liabilityRetail nursery with five staffaround €200 to €600 a year
Commercial buildingsGlasshouse of 3,000 square metres, hail, storm and snow loadaround €1,500 to €4,500 a year
Business contentsCrops and equipment worth €200,000, including heating failurearound €800 to €2,500 a year
Natural hazard coverHail insurance for orchards, per hectarearound €40 to €100 a year
Business interruptionLoss of income for twelve monthsaround €400 to €1,500 a year

For comparison: Glasshouse insurance for a small market garden costs roughly as much a year as 1,000 to 2,000 geraniums in the spring sale.

Guide figures excluding German insurance tax, as of September 2026.

The hail range for fruit comes from published market examples,

the other figures from our own quoting.

Bavaria subsidises multi peril insurance for fruit and nurseries with up to 50 percent of the

premium.

We obtain the exact quote.

Sources of the price examples

Our suggestions: three packages

01

Farm shop

For: Small nurseries and fruit farms selling direct

  • Business liability
  • Commercial buildings
  • Business contents

Together around €1,200 to €3,500 a year

Request this package

02

Under glass

For: Production nurseries with glass, heating and climate control

  • Business liability
  • Commercial buildings
  • Business contents
  • Business interruption
  • Electronic equipment

Together around €4,000 to €12,000 a year

Request this package

03

Orchard and nursery

For: Fruit growers and tree nurseries with open ground and machinery

  • Business liability
  • Commercial buildings
  • Business contents
  • Natural hazard cover
  • Car insurance

Together around €3,000 to €10,000 a year, hail depending on area

Request this package

The worst day at the nursery

Six things that really happen to market gardens and fruit growers, put together on one day. Tap through and see who pays.

Damage so far€179,500
  1. The heating burner fails at minus eight degrees and the alarm goes to an old mobile phone. The poinsettias freeze.

    €28,000 · Paid by: Business contents

  2. The next crop cannot be raised in time, and the supply contract with the garden centre falls through.

    €16,000 · Paid by: Business interruption

  3. A customer slips on a wet floor in the sales house and breaks her hip.

    €22,000 · Paid by: Business liability

  4. A power surge destroys the climate computer; ventilation and irrigation run by hand.

    €9,500 · Paid by: Electronic equipment

  5. Hail smashes 800 square metres of glass roof over the bedding plants.

    €64,000 · Paid by: Commercial buildings

  6. The same hailstorm hits the apple orchard, and 5 hectares are only fit for juice.

    €40,000 · Paid by: Natural hazard cover

Which package would you have had?

Paid by insurance: €0
Out of your own pocket: €179,500

Illustrative amounts before any excess.

What is paid depends on the policy terms.

Practical tips from your broker

  1. Insure crops against heating, power and equipment failure, and include the follow-on crop.
  2. Install a temperature alarm that forwards to your mobile and test it; insurers often make it a condition.
  3. Have snow load expressly included and record when you clear snow or heat.
  4. In orchards: insure hail and frost together and check the subsidy schemes in your federal state.
  5. Include planting work at customers' properties and deliveries in your general liability if you also plant gardens.
  6. Insure specimen trees and open ground stock in the nursery against theft with a sum of their own.

Why NAMMERT for your business

We ask about the winter

Heating failure and follow-on crops are the gaps that cost nurseries most. As a broker we compare which insurers cover them.

We know storm damage

In boat insurance we handle storm and hail claims ourselves. We know how to document damage quickly before anything is cleared away.

Business, holding and family

We look after glasshouse, shop, vehicles and your private cover from one place, and can explain it in English.

A family business since 1989

Many nurseries are family businesses, and so are we. Free for you; the insurer pays our commission.

Frequently asked questions

Questions and answers

What does glasshouse insurance cost?

That depends on area, construction and crops.

For a glasshouse of 3,000 square metres, €1,500 to €4,500 a year is a realistic range,

plus cover for the crops.

Is glass broken by hail covered?

Yes, if hail is included in the buildings insurance, which is usual for glasshouses.

Check whether polythene and twin wall sheets are treated the same way.

Does insurance pay for frozen plants?

Only if crops are insured against heating or equipment failure.

Without that extension you carry the loss yourself.

What does hail insurance cost for fruit?

According to published market examples, around €40 to €100 per hectare a year,

depending on location and type of fruit.

Who is responsible for accidents at work?

The SVLFG.

It is also the statutory accident insurer for horticulture.

Do I need insurance for planting work at customers' homes?

If you also lay out or plant gardens, it must be written into your general liability,

otherwise damage on other people's land is not covered.

NAMMERT insurance broker

Request quotes for Market garden and orchard

The recommended covers are ticked.

Change what does not fit; we compare quotes, in English.

1Who is it for?
2Which insurance?

Choose as many as you like. For each one, the details an insurer needs for a quote appear below.

Personal

Business

3Details

Natural hazard cover in Germany (Elementarschadenversicherung)

If you know your ZÜRS class, please mention it in the message field

For example 1914 value, living space or contents sum

Business liability insurance in Germany (Betriebshaftpflicht)

For example electrical installation in homes, café with outdoor seating, online shop for furniture

For example work at clients' sites, own products, exports to the US, parent company abroad

Business contents insurance in Germany (Inhaltsversicherung)

For example café with bakery, accounting firm, car repair shop

At purchase price, 0 if no stock

For example flood cover, customer property, tools in vehicles, loss of income

Commercial buildings insurance in Germany (Gebäudeversicherung)

From a valuation or your current policy

For example flood cover, solar panels, loss of rent, planned refurbishment

Business interruption insurance in Germany (Betriebsunterbrechungsversicherung)

For example metalworking with eight staff, restaurant, dental practice

Turnover minus materials and goods purchased, your tax adviser will know

For example key machinery, flood, long delivery times

4Your current policy
5How can we reach you?

Free of charge and without obligation. A person will get back to you.

Related trades

Landscaping

Landscaping

Who pays if a stone thrown up while mowing smashes a car window?

Florist

Florist

Are the plants outside my shop insured?

Arable farming

Arable farming

Is hail or multi peril crop insurance worth it for my farm?

Official classification

This page covers the following classes of the German WZ 2025 (identical to NACE at four digits):

  • 01.13
  • 01.19
  • 01.22
  • 01.23
  • 01.24
  • 01.25
  • 01.26
  • 01.27
  • 01.28
  • 01.29
  • 01.30

Source: Federal Statistical Office of Germany (Destatis), WZ 2025. All business types

Boat or yacht? NAMMERT has its own cover concepts for boats, arranged by the same broker.

Boat insurance

Updated